The beauty of rowing is that the basic ideal technique is exactly the same for all rowers, whether complete novices, Olympic competitors, or somewhere in-between. Once this basic technique has been mastered, it is simply a matter of fine-tuning the quirks, and taking the training intensity to the level necessary for the desired outcome! The following is a brief description of the basic fundamentals of a rowing stroke:
"The two fundamental reference points in the rowing stroke are the catch, immediately prior to the oar blade's placement in the water, and the extraction (also known as the finish or the release) where the rower removes the oar blade from the water. From the catch, the rower places the blade in the water, then applies pressure to the oar by simultaneously pushing the seat toward the bow of the boat by extending the legs. As the legs approach full extension, the rower rotates his or her torso toward the bow of the boat and then finally pulls the arms towards his or her chest. The shoulders should not hunch up at any point during the drive. At the very end of the stroke, with the blade still in the water, the hands drop slightly to unload the oar so that spring energy stored in the bend of the oar gets transferred to the boat, which eases removing the oar from the water and minimizes energy wasted on lifting water above the surface (splashing). The aforementioned stages of the stroke where pressure is applied to the blade through the water comprise the drive of the stroke.
The recovery phase follows the drive. The recovery involves removing the oar from the water, and coordinating the body movement to move the oar to the catch. The coordinated body motion that begins at the finish consists of the following: The rower pushes down on the oar handle (or oar handles if the rower is sculling) to quickly lift the blade from the water at the release. Following the release, the rower rapidly rotates the oar to cause the blade of the oar to become parallel to the water (a process referred to as "feathering the blade") at the same time as pushing the oar handle away from the chest. After feathering and extending the arms, the rower rotates his or her body forward. Once the hands are past the knees, the rower compresses the legs which moves the seat towards the stern of the boat. The leg compression occurs relatively slowly (compared with the rest of the stroke) which affords the rower a moment to "recover" (hence the recovery nomenclature), and allows the boat to glide through the water. Near the end of the recovery, the rower squares the blade (rotates the blade to perpendicular to the water), and then repeats the stroke again, beginning with the catch.
In a multi-person boat, the above motion must be executed in precise synchrony with all other rowers in the shell. Coordinated timing at the catch is imperative to avoid "checking" the boat, or slowing its forward progress. Ideally, all rowers arrive at the catch at exactly the same moment, and immediately apply pressure on the oar with the oar in the water which minimizes jerk at the catch. To accomplish this, the oar must be in the water slightly in advance of the rower's arrival at the catch where the seat reverses direction. When this action is completed correctly a bit of water, called "back splash" is splashed."
(Rowing (sport). (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 6th, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowing_(sport) ) Confused? Lost in all the lingo? Have a look at the following YouTube videos for a visualisation of what that passage was describing:
A basic animation of the body position throughout the rowing stroke.
A demonstration of good sculling technique by former Olympic single sculler, Xeno Muller. Rowing technique is an immensely complex and multi-faceted discipline, and this basic technique outlined above is just the tip of the iceberg! Add as much info as you can to this page to help create a more complete resource, as well as any resources you have found useful.
Technique
The beauty of rowing is that the basic ideal technique is exactly the same for all rowers, whether complete novices, Olympic competitors, or somewhere in-between. Once this basic technique has been mastered, it is simply a matter of fine-tuning the quirks, and taking the training intensity to the level necessary for the desired outcome!
The following is a brief description of the basic fundamentals of a rowing stroke:
"The two fundamental reference points in the rowing stroke are the catch, immediately prior to the oar blade's placement in the water, and the extraction (also known as the finish or the release) where the rower removes the oar blade from the water. From the catch, the rower places the blade in the water, then applies pressure to the oar by simultaneously pushing the seat toward the bow of the boat by extending the legs. As the legs approach full extension, the rower rotates his or her torso toward the bow of the boat and then finally pulls the arms towards his or her chest. The shoulders should not hunch up at any point during the drive. At the very end of the stroke, with the blade still in the water, the hands drop slightly to unload the oar so that spring energy stored in the bend of the oar gets transferred to the boat, which eases removing the oar from the water and minimizes energy wasted on lifting water above the surface (splashing). The aforementioned stages of the stroke where pressure is applied to the blade through the water comprise the drive of the stroke.
The recovery phase follows the drive. The recovery involves removing the oar from the water, and coordinating the body movement to move the oar to the catch. The coordinated body motion that begins at the finish consists of the following: The rower pushes down on the oar handle (or oar handles if the rower is sculling) to quickly lift the blade from the water at the release. Following the release, the rower rapidly rotates the oar to cause the blade of the oar to become parallel to the water (a process referred to as "feathering the blade") at the same time as pushing the oar handle away from the chest. After feathering and extending the arms, the rower rotates his or her body forward. Once the hands are past the knees, the rower compresses the legs which moves the seat towards the stern of the boat. The leg compression occurs relatively slowly (compared with the rest of the stroke) which affords the rower a moment to "recover" (hence the recovery nomenclature), and allows the boat to glide through the water. Near the end of the recovery, the rower squares the blade (rotates the blade to perpendicular to the water), and then repeats the stroke again, beginning with the catch.
In a multi-person boat, the above motion must be executed in precise synchrony with all other rowers in the shell. Coordinated timing at the catch is imperative to avoid "checking" the boat, or slowing its forward progress. Ideally, all rowers arrive at the catch at exactly the same moment, and immediately apply pressure on the oar with the oar in the water which minimizes jerk at the catch. To accomplish this, the oar must be in the water slightly in advance of the rower's arrival at the catch where the seat reverses direction. When this action is completed correctly a bit of water, called "back splash" is splashed."
(Rowing (sport). (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 6th, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowing_(sport) )
Confused? Lost in all the lingo? Have a look at the following YouTube videos for a visualisation of what that passage was describing:
A basic animation of the body position throughout the rowing stroke.
A demonstration of good sculling technique by former Olympic single sculler, Xeno Muller.
Rowing technique is an immensely complex and multi-faceted discipline, and this basic technique outlined above is just the tip of the iceberg! Add as much info as you can to this page to help create a more complete resource, as well as any resources you have found useful.